The 2011 NCAA Tournament field is arguably the worst in tournament history. According to ESPN there are 13 teams with 11 losses, 7 teams with 13 losses, and 5 teams with 14 losses in this year’s field. Most experts agree that there aren’t any elite teams in college basketball this season which should make the tournament wide open.

The wort omissions by the NCAA tournament committee according to ESPN and CBS were: Colorado, Virginia Tech, Saint Marys, Alabama, and Boston College.  The most surprising teams to be included in the tournament field are: UAB and VCU.   I’ll be the first to tell you I’m not a college basketball expert – just something to keep in mind as you read my predictions for each region.

Photo via sportsbookgurus.com

East:

Most likely upset: Clemson (provided they beat UAB) over West Virginia

Sleeper (seeded 5-12 with a good chance to win a couple games): Washington

Final Four Pick: Ohio State over Syracuse

Southeast:

Most likely upset: Belmont over Wisconsin or Utah State over Kansas State

Sleeper: Gonzaga

Final Four Pick: Pittsburgh over Florida

West:

Most likely upset: Missouri over Cincinnati

Sleeper: Tennessee

Final Four Pick: Arizona over UConn

Southwest:

Most likely to pull an upset: Florida State over Texas A&M or Richmond over Vanderbilt

Sleeper (Not a huge fan of seeds 5-12 in this region so I’m going with): Louisville

Final Four Pick: Kansas over Purdue

Final Four:

Kansas over Pittsburgh

Ohio State over Arizona

National Championship Game: Kansas over Ohio State

I’m sure I’ll change my mind on a few of these picks – the predictions are based on my first reaction to the brackets being released Sunday afternoon (with a little help from the “experts” on TV). I’ll be tuning into ESPN on Monday and Tuesday for additional updates on match-ups and injuries before finalizing my bracket.   Best of luck filling yours out and make sure you have a good place to post up this weekend to catch all the action!

Be sure to comment below and give your predictions.